Course designer Ian Stark is hoping for just a handful of combinations to come home clear and inside time. “I don’t mind lots of clears but I don’t want everyone to gallop around clear and inside the time,” he said. “Having said that, the ground is absolutely perfect.”

He’s going as far to say it is the fastest it will ever be, but says he is picking there to be a little trouble all round.

Bramham is a favourite destination for him. “I love designing here at Bramham,” says Stark. “I love getting the course ready, and then I sweat buckets because (already) the riders are giving me a hard time . . . but in general they are quite happy with the course. I don’t mind if the riders think it is tough, as long as the horses understand what I am putting out there.”